Grotto Canyon (2011.12.25)

When I was back to my car from Heart Mountain, it was only 11:30, but the weather had already moved in. So instead of bagging another peak in that area, I decided to do a canyon walk, which somewhat doesn’t change much during bad weather if you want the views. I followed two ice climbers to a ice fall (with crampons on my boots), then headed towards the Hoodoos, further up in the valley. I had to take off my crampons because the route was no longer icy, instead it became snowy and rocky. I climbed to a cave at the Hoodoos, which involves some exposed traversing near the top. Guess I just wanted to warm up for tomorrow’s Mt. Lady MacDonald’s summit ridge, which is one of the most exposed scrambles among all the scrambles described in Kane’s book. Because of the snow, the traverse part was even worse, especially on the way back.